


The Good Ship LadyBug

by Ladyvallhalla



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, Ladybug Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 03:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16339340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyvallhalla/pseuds/Ladyvallhalla
Summary: There are lots of unexpected things on the high seas. But when Blake and Weiss end up captives aboard the rival pirate ship of two sisters, they find that these two might be the most surprising thing out there, and perhaps the most intruiging as well.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My contributions to ladybug week 2018. Day one: Pirates. I hope you like it. I uploaded all 5 chapters at once for this one since it was only meant to be a one-shot, but I felt it was too long to be one whole chapter.

Dazzling adventures, tenacious battles and a fabulous wealth of treasure the likes of which had never been seen, this was the life of a pirate, or least that’s how the stories would tell. For one pirate however, life on the high seas were far from the rip-roaring roller coaster it had promised to be.

Ruby was bored, extremely mind numbingly bored, and her sister and second in command was not helping the matter one bit. She was drunk, again… An unfortunate circumstance of their last bounty, which provided several cases of ale, now down to only one remaining after her sister and the layabouts she called a crew had gotten into them.

What was the point of looting all these goods if the crew were going to drink it away? Where was the profit in that?

There was nothing in this world Ruby wanted more than adventure. She didn’t want to spend her time raiding passing ships for supplies and selling them on for an over inflated price. She wasn’t a business man she was a pirate!  She wanted to swashbuckle, whatever that meant.

Alas this was the life she had chosen and she just hoped their next target would provide more satisfaction. Speaking of which, she turned to Nora, sighing when she spotted her in the process of losing her breakfast over the side of the ship.  She was clearly in no position to steer, they would likely end up running ground on some godforsaken island.

Ruby was about to take the wheel herself when she heard a distant sound that was very familiar. After all these years she had become good at reading the sea. She looked down at the water below, a ship was definitely approaching, and fast. She quickly turned the wheel, trying to move the ship away from it. She wasn’t one to run, but with a half drunken crew all bets would be off in a fight.

Unfortunately, it was too late and the ship came into view. It was unfamiliar, but Ruby immediately recognised the flag, fellow pirates, not good.

“Yang!” Ruby shouted, trying to get her sisters attention. “Yang, we’re about to be attacked!”

Yang was leaning up against a large crate and Ruby winced as she watched her sister reach up with her hook hand to rub her eye before remembering to use her other hand. It wasn’t the first time she had done this, it was only a matter of time before she lost an eye if she kept that up.

“Rubes, what you on bout?” She slurred, trying to stand up and immediately falling back onto the crate. “You should relax, and have a drink with us.”

“I’m not going to drink Yang.” Ruby said in a panic, “We are about to be attacked by rival pirates!”

The ship was drawing closer and with half her crew incapacitated there wasn’t much hope of a fair fight. Ruby was started to panic, sure she wanted a little more excitement in her life, but being killed and looted by rival pirates was far from what she had in mind.

The shipped failed to turn in time and the rival ship pulled over at their side. Ruby stepped away from the wheel and stood waiting with her hand tightly clutching the handle of her curved blade. Even outnumbered she wasn’t about to go down without a fight. The few sober members of her craw remaining gathered behind her, their weapons at the ready.

The wind blow across the ship's bow and Ruby quickly placed her hand on her hat to stop it from flying off her head, it wasn’t quick enough however and she watched it fly directly over to the other ship. From the shadows stepped a figure, plucking her hat out of the air as she stepped forward and kicked a plank across there two ships. Ruby silently watched as the figure came into view. The wind blowing through long black hair that seem to flow like the ocean itself. It was definitely a young woman, dressed entirely in black save for the purple lining on her long jacket and the golden glimmer reflecting from her long sword.

The girl simply stood halfway across the plank, quietly observing her.

“So, they let children captain vessels these days, pathetic…” The voice came from behind and Ruby looked past the mysterious girl standing on the plank to see another smaller girl, with white hair. Her stature was far from intimidating but she somehow managed to be just that.

As Ruby observed her she noticed the girl was sporting an eye patch, it was plain white much like the rest of her outfit, only with very elaborate silver trimmings.

“My name is Weiss Schnee.” the smaller girl sneered, “This information will do you little good since you’ll be dead soon, but I like to keep introductions in order.”

Ruby clutched her blade with a tighter grip when Weiss started moving across the plank and onto her ship. Halfway across the taller girl in black also started to move forward until they were both stood on her ships desk.

“You don’t scare me.” Ruby lied, she was a little scared. Ordinarily she would have her whole crew for backup but right now stood with only a handful of men behind her. “What do you want?”

“I would have thought that was obvious.” Weiss replied with a small smirk, “We are going to kill you, and loot your ship. We’ve both playing by the same rules here, do I really need to spell this out?”

Despite the attempts at intimidation, Ruby wasn’t able to keep her eyes from drifting back to the girl in black. She had yet to speak a single word, but her presence alone was strangely compelling. There was something about her, an air of mystery that spoke of the story that was begging to be told. She stood by the side of this smaller girl, who Ruby could only assume was in command, but it seemed almost like she didn’t want to be there, or wasn’t there at all, like she was reluctantly going through the motions.

Ruby forced herself to pay attention, turning back to Weiss. “What happened to honour among thieves? You’re not meant to raid other pirates!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, guess I missed that day of pirate school.” Weiss smirked and started pacing in front of her, her hand resting on the handle of what looked like a long silver rapier. “Your ship is fair game as far as I’m concerned. Now prepare to meet your end with honour.”

Ruby stepped back when Weiss unsheathed her weapon, pointing it directly at her. She followed suit, standing ready.

“What kind of shit do we have here?”

Both spun around to see Yang staggering across the deck, clearly all the commotion had finally pulled her out of her drunken coma.

“Ruby look,” Yang chuckled and staggered forward in front of Weiss, “It’s a tiny pirate. She’s so cute, can we keep her?”

“What!?” Weiss quickly pointed her sword directly at Yang, “How dare you!”

“Dawww,” Yang laughed and fell backwards slightly, banging into Ruby and nearly knocking her over. “She’s trying to be all intimidating, bless!”

Ruby sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was exactly the reason her ship had a lousy reputation and wasn’t taken seriously. She was about to chastise Yang when suddenly Weiss sprang into action, swinging her sword at Yang who jumped backwards narrowly missing the hit. She fell back, landing on top of three drunken crewmen who were asleep on the deck.

“You little shit!” Yang yelled and jumped to her feet, “You’re gonna pay for that.”

When Yang pulled out her sword and lunged forward, the intended strike never landed on its target and was instead intercepted by a lightning fast blur of black smoke. When the smoke cleared Ruby watched her sister standing toe to toe with the girl in black, their weapons locked.

“I don’t think you know what you’re dealing with,” Weiss said with a smug smile. She walked up behind her crewman, patting her on the shoulder, “Blake here will not let any harm come to me, she respects the chain of command. Some people should know their place!”

Yang grunted and pushed against Blake’s swords but it seemed their strength was evenly matched.  Suddenly, the ship was flooded with Weiss’ men, running across the plank and charging at Ruby’s small band of still conscious crewmen.

“If you surrender, we’ll make it quick,” Weiss said with a sneer, “You are outmatched, not to mention out classed.”

“Cocky little shit,” Yang grunted and pushed against Blake. It was unfortunate that under normal circumstances she likely wouldn’t have had a problem out matching the girl, but she had yet to completely sober up. She was however sobering up pretty quickly when she noticed Weiss approaching her sister, blade in hand.  “We do not surrender!” she said through gritted teeth.

“Very well.” Weiss quickly draw her weapon and held her blade to Ruby’s throat, applying gentle pressure and leaving a red trail in its wake. “That is unfortunate, I suppose we’ll have to do this the hard way.

Ruby narrowed her eyes and watched helplessly as her men were overcome. There were indeed completely outnumbered. Weiss’ men ordered them to their knees in a line across the deck. With her men incapacitated it was a standoff and Ruby lifted her sword only to lower it again when the blade at her throat moved down to her chest.

“Any last words?” Weiss said.

Before Ruby had time to consider a comeback, there was a scuffle at her side. Yang had been promptly disarmed, her sword flying across the deck, completely out of reach. Blake pushed her back onto the floor, standing over her before looking up at Weiss.

“Is this necessary?”

It was the first time Blake had spoken, and her voice seen to cut through the tension like a knife through butter.  There was no malice in her tone, it was calm, nonchalant, like someone exchanging pleasantries about the weather.

“Are you questioning my authority Belladonna?”

The blade at her chest was lowered and Ruby watched as Weiss stormed across the deck to stand in front of her subordinate.

“You know I'll kill them if ordered Weiss, but this seems below you.”

“Explain!” Weiss replied, pointing her finger at Blake.

“Well, look at them.” Blake gestured around her to the occupants of the ship. Half of them were lying unconscious on the deck, in a drunken stupor. The others lined up with their hands behind their heads. Yang was sitting on the floor, rubbing her arm and repeatedly trying to stand up only to fall back down with a pathetic groan. “At this point, it’s just sad. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Let’s just take them for what they have and leave.”

“No one is taking anything!” It seemed Yang didn’t appreciate the comparison, now almost completely sobered up, she finally managed to get to her feet. With their adversaries distracted by their debate, she sprang into action, flipping back and drop kicking two of Weiss’ crewmen to the floor. She wobbled slightly, before quickly finding her footing and running across the deck to retrieve her weapon.

Seeing her sister come to life, Ruby didn’t waste a moment. Instead of attacking Weiss and Blake directly she spun around, quickly disarming and dispatching two more of Weiss’ men and allowing some of her crew to get to there feet.

“Attack!!” she shouted and lunged forward, leaping across the deck into a group of men, sending them crashing to the ground.

After getting over the sudden shock, Weiss charged directly at Yang, thrusting her sword, only to miss when Yang lept backwards with a mysterious chuckle.

“Easy there stabby.” Yang chuckled, whilst dodging her attacks. “If you wanna dance, you only had to ask.”

Weiss groaned in frustration and staggered backwards when Yang parried her attack and pushed back against it. She couldn't hope too match her strength and found herself being pushed further and further back across the deck. Soon her back hit wood, and she realised Yang had her pinned against the mast.

“If you going to kill me, make it quick.” Weiss said through gritted teeth, still pushing against her adversary sword.

“Maybe later darling,” Yang replied with a grin before knocking her unconscious with the butt of her sword. “Sweet dreams tiny pirate.”

When Weiss hit the deck her crew immediately began to panic. Yang and Ruby had both expected Blake to start giving orders but when they looked over the other girl was just standing, her weapon lowered, observing silently.

Yang quickly bolted across the deck when noticed one of their men loading the cannon, ready to open fire on the ship by their side. It only took a few volleys but it had the desired effect, Weiss’ crew panicked, stumbling across the deck in the hopes of getting back to their own ship before it was totally destroyed.

Ruby stumbled and was nearly once again knocked to the floor when a group of men ran past her, heading for the plank that connected both there ships.

They were soon gone, and the plank retracted but as the ship began to sail away, Ruby noticed that not all its occupants were present. Blake still remained, observing them and saying nothing.

“Why the hell are you still doing here?” Yang asked what they were both thinking.

Blake seem to consider the question for a moment before stepping forward. “I won't abandon my captain.”

“Actual honour, shocking…” Yang replied and huffed when Ruby elbowed her in the stomach.

“Go make sure she’s tied up,” Ruby said pointing to the still unconscious Weiss. “She is gonna be pissed when she wakes up.”

She watched Yang leave without protest before turning back to Blake. “Well, you're kinda stuck here now.”

“Seems so,” Blake replied with a small shrub. “I assume you're going to execute us both.”

“What? Nah.” Ruby waved her arm and shook her head. “We're not really the executing types.”

“I see, then what do you propose to do with us?”

That was a difficult question to answer. With two rival pirates aboard her ship, Ruby wasn't quite sure how to proceed. There was one simple solution and she decided that was probably for the best. Certainly better than the alternative.

“We’ll head to port Amber. We can drop you and your captain off at the docks.”

“That's surprisingly generous of you,” Blake replied, “considering we just tried to kill you all.”

“Meh!” Ruby shrugged and waved her hand. “Not like your any threat to us now. Besides, we're all playing the same game here. Not that it's a game, or that we kill people because we try really really hard not to. We just steal from them, which still isn't good but you know, pirates will be pirates and all.”

“Ruby, you’re rambling!” Yang shouted from her spot across the deck where she was still tying up the unconscious captain.

“Oh right, sorry.” Ruby said with a chuckle, “I ramble when I'm nervous.”

“You are not at all what I would have expected from the captain of a pirate ship.”

“Yeah I get that a lot.” Ruby replied and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you would expect me to be more like her.” She pointed to Weiss, who was now firmly tied to the mast of a ship.

“She's not all bad.” Blake replied.

“Eh, well I'll take your word for it.”

“Coming about, orders Captain Rose?”

Ruby looked over to see one of her men taking the wheel and waiting to receive his orders.

“Port Amber. Full speed ahead.” she shouted back, turning to look at Blake once more. “You hungry?” She asked, fidgeting slightly. Something about this girl still made her nervous, and intrigued, but mostly nervous.

“Ruby you shouldn't be fraternising with the enemy.” Yang had started to walk over to them, still clutching her blade.

“I'm not fraternising. I'm just being a good host."

“You’re like the worst pirate ever.” Yang said with a laugh, grinning when Ruby smacked her arm.

“I'm still your captain you know, I could make you walk the plank.”

Yang held her hand to her chest, feigning shock. “ You wouldn't?”

“Try me…” Ruby replied with a small smirk.

Blake stood silently watching the exchange. She had come across many pirates in her time, but none like this. It was slightly surreal but she also felt something she hadn't in a very long time. She felt her mouth twitching into a small smile.

“Alright captain dork, go have dinner with the enemy.” Yang said, nudging her sister with her elbow.

“I'll watch over sleeping beauty and likely murderess over there, so I can see the expression on her face when she wakes up.”

Ruby rolled her eyes and smiled. “Fine, but don't fall asleep, drink some coffee I don't think you're entirely sober yet.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Yang replied, wandering off across the deck.

Ruby turned her attention back to Blake. “it's going to take like, three days to get to the port. I'll find you some quarters but I'm going to have to take your sword.”

“I suppose that's understandable,” Blake replied and handed over her sword. “I have no intention of using it anyway, you already said you would let us go and it's not like I would stand a chance if I tried to take you all on.”

“Yeah, no, that wouldn't be a good idea at all.”

As Ruby looked the girl over she was still stuck with a nervous curiosity. She felt compelled to learn more about her. Why did she seem so loyal to her captain? How had she ended up becoming a pirate in the first place? How could someone so beautiful even exist? That last thought took her slightly by surprise and she shook her head.

Three days till port Amber, she's supposed that was plenty of time to find out.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was mid-afternoon the next day and things on board were surprisingly quiet. Ruby stood, looking out over the open sea as they sailed at a steady pace towards port Amber. The ship and her crew were back to running at peak efficiency and Ruby had locked away all the remaining alcohol, insisting that no one was allowed to drink until they arrived at port.

Blake had been incredibly cooperative and in addition to keeping herself mostly out of the way, she had even been helping with the small things around the ship. This surprised Ruby but she guessed Blake was probably just grateful; most pirates would have executed both her and her captain without a second thought.

Speaking of the captain, it looked as though she was finally beginning to wake up after being unconscious throughout the night and most of the following day. They had, of course, left her tied to the mast, unsure how she would react when she woke up. It looked as though they were about to find out.

Yang was grinning, sat on top of a large crate watching as their small captive groaned and began to open her eyes. Blake immediately rushed over, kneeling at her side.

“Captain, are you alright?” She asked with concern before turning to Yang. “Do you think you could get her some water?”

Yang just nodded and jumped down from the crate, disappearing across the deck only to return moments later with a tankard of water.

After getting her captain to take a few small sips, Blake placed the cup down beside her and watched in silence as Weiss began to come to her senses. She spotted Blake and seemed to sigh a little in relief but as her eyes wandered her surroundings they narrowed when they landed on Yang.

“You…” She snared and tried to pull at her bindings. “Why am I tied up? Release me this incident!”

“Well, aren't you just a ray of morning sunshine.” Yang said with a chuckle. “Also no, you need to stay tied up just a little bit longer.”

Weiss just sneered at her and looked back at Blake. “What's going on? Where are my crew?” She asked, continuing to struggle slightly against the ropes.

“They left.” Blake got to her feet to stand above her. She was vaguely aware of Ruby moving to stand behind her. “They abandoned us after you, you know.”

“You face planted the deck.” Yang interrupted with a smirk.

“Well, yes, that.” Blake sighed. “We're kind of stuck here now.”

“Stuck here? Why are we not dead already?”

“Because we don't go around executing people.” Ruby intervened. “I don't think it's very polite.”

“Would certainly put a crimper on my day.” Yang laughed and patted her sister’s shoulder. “For reals though. I don't see any reason to kill either of you, we’ll just throw you off the ship at the next port.”

Weiss seemed entirely confused by this, her brow creasing. She shook her head before looking back at her first mate. “They're just going to let us go?” She asked before turning her eyes to Ruby. “What kind of pirates are you people?”

“Anyone would think you want to be executed.” Ruby replied, smiling when she heard her sister chuckle.

“Well, you were eager to use the plank last night.” Yang quipped. “Sounds like you might have a volunteer.”

Both sisters stopped laughing when they noticed Weiss glaring at them. Blake also looks slightly unimpressed, although Ruby could have sworn she could see her mouth twitching into a small smile.

“Why would the crew just leave us like that?” Weiss asked Blake, choosing to ignore her two captors. “Didn't you take over command, Belladonna?”

“Eh-”

“She did but they didn't listen.” Ruby quickly interrupted and Blake's eyes widened slightly in shock. “I guess your crew really don't respect the chain of command as much as you thought.”

Blake was stunned into silence for a moment but quickly schooled her expression and nodded in agreement. She had no idea why Ruby was lying for her but she wasn't going to question it, not yet anyway.

“Damn worthless half breed degenerates!” Weiss spat angrily. “They won't last five minutes out there without me, and now I'm stuck here with you people.”

“Charming.” Yang said with a smirk.

It looked as though Weiss was about to offer some sort of retort but Blake beat her to it. “Would it be ok if I had a moment alone with my captain?”

Ruby nodded and started dragging her sister away to the side of the deck, out of earshot. “Okay, but no untying her, not yet anyway.”

Blake nodded and muttered a small thank you. She waited until they were out of earshot completely before turning back to her captain.

“Listen, Weiss.” she said calmly. “It's going to be alright.”

“We're being held captive on a rival pirate ship. I fail to see where the “alright” is in this scenario.”

Blake sighed and knelt down beside her. “I've only been here a day, but I've been watching them, they're not like any other pirates I've ever come across. I certainly think we can trust them, at least in terms of not killing us.”

“Do you think they'll keep their word and let us go?” Weiss asked. She seemed to be calming down.

“Yes I do.” Blake replied without hesitation. “You trust me, right?”

Weiss nodded. “You know I do.”

“Then trust me on this.”

Meanwhile across the deck, Ruby and Yang watched from afar, both leaning against the side of the ship.

“What do you make of those two?” Yang asked. Although she was asking Ruby a question, she never took her eyes off the two girls across the deck.

“I'm not quite sure,” She was also keeping her eyes on the captives, or to be more exact, on Blake. “I don't think we have to worry about them trying anything, they don't look stupid.”

“How does a person look stupid?”

“Think I have a mirror around here somewhere that will answer the question for you.” Ruby retorted with a laugh.

“Oh ho!” Yang laughed, slapping her knee. “Good one Rubes.”

“Thanks.”

As the laughter died down, Ruby felt her eyes drifting back to Blake. She couldn't seem to stop staring at the girl. She was still knelt down beside her captain, occasionally tucking a stray strand of black hair behind her ear as it blew in the wind.

“Blake is interesting, isn't she?” She asked the question without even thinking, it just kind of came out.

“Tall, dark and mysterious; does my little sister have a type?” Yang replied with a smirk.

“What?” Ruby tore her eyes away from Blake to look over at her sister. “What do you mean?”

Yang huffed and rolled her eyes with a good natured smirk. “Don't try and deny it. Do you think I haven't noticed how you haven't been able to take your eyes off her since yesterday? I’m not blind.”

“It's...it’s not like that.”

“Hey I don't blame you.” Yang threw her good arm over her sister's shoulder. “She's got that dark, brooding, mysterious thing going for her.”

“But-”

“Oh this is so cute!” Yang interrupted again, not letting her sister get a word in. “Romance on the high seas, starring Ruby Rose and Blake Bellathingy.”

“Belladonna.”

“I say go for it!” Yang cheered and slapped her on the back hard enough to make her forward slightly.

“Yaaaang,” Ruby complained and straightened her hat. “There is no point, she'll be gone in a few days anyway.”

“Then ask her if she fancies a quickie behind some crates.” Yang replied with a smirk.

“Why are you like this!?”

Yang laughed at her sister and poked her hat, causing it to once again tilt on her head, she groaned and quickly straightened it. “Let's just drop it ok. I'm not interested in a fling.”

“That's too bad, nothing wrong with being flung every now and then.”

“I'm sure, but it's not my style.” Ruby quickly added a “hush” when she saw Blake approaching them. The conversation with her captain now over.

“Everything okay?” She asked. She could still see her sister smirking in the corner of her eye but chose to ignore her.

“Yes.” Blake replied. “Weiss has promised to behave if you untie her. She's not stupid enough to try anything, especially since you have taken her weapon away.”

“Excellent!” Yang cheered and started heading over to her captive. “Now we can all be real good friends, right Ruby?” She added a wink and laughed when her sister narrowed her eyes.

“Whatever.” Ruby muttered and followed her sister over to the mast.

As soon as they got there Yang knelt down beside Weiss. “How's it going, tiny pirate?” She asked with a smirk.

“Just untie me, you blonde buffoon!”

Yang laughed and pulled a dagger out of her boot, cutting through the ropes. “Oh I like you, you've got spunk!”

“Well, thank you for that ringing endorsement.” Weiss replied. She rubbed her wrists, which were red from the burning of the ropes. “I don't like you…”

Yang chuckled and held her hand to her chest. “Oh, I'm deeply wounded… However will I go on?” She said dramatically, stumbling backwards slightly. “My heart, it breaks.”

“Are you even a real person? Two days with you people is going to be the end of me.”

“Or the start of a beautiful friendship.” Yang sighed and pretended to look off into the distance with a dreamy expression on her face before suddenly looking back at her with a smirk. “Or there are some crates back there-”

“Yang!” Ruby interrupted her, crossing her arms over her chest. “Behave yourself.”

“Pfff, you're no fun.” Yang rolled her eyes with a chuckle before wandering off across the deck.

“So what now?” Weiss asked. She clearly either hadn't understood Yang’s comment or had elected to ignore.

“Well, like you said, two days before we arrived at Port Amber.” Ruby replied. “I guess we all just try and get along until then.”

“Wonderful.” She was sure this was going to be an unmitigated nightmare.

...

It had been an interesting day to say the least and as Ruby stood, watching the midnight moon reflect on the water below, she was happy to have a little peace and quiet to think on it.

The rest of the day had gone without incident. Yang had kept a very close eye on Weiss, who had mostly spent the day moping and mourning the loss of being abandoned by her crew.

Blake had been helping Nora to reinforce the sails with some trick she had learnt and of course Ruby had been watching from afar.

Now she was finally alone she couldn't help thinking about what Yang had said earlier. She was clearly attracted to Blake but that attraction wasn't enough, she needed more than that. She had barely considered the idea of a relationship in the past; being always on the road so to speak there wasn't much opportunity for one. Nobody on her crew interested her, in fact, this was the first time she'd ever been interested in anyone.

There was something about Blake, more than just her devilish good looks. Something that made her heart quicken and her pulse race. It was silly to even think about it, in a couple of days Blake would be gone and it was likely she would never see her again.

“I hope I'm not bothering you?” Ruby quickly spun around to see Blake standing behind her, holding two cups in her hands. “It's a bit cold out, I thought you might like a hot drink.”

The way the moon reflected off her hair and caused her eyes to glimmer was spellbinding. For a moment Ruby had to focus all her energy to not stand and stare like a gormless idiot.

“Thank you,” she said, accepting the offered drink. “That's really nice of you.”

“Well, it's the least I can do,” Blake replied. “What with the not killing us and all.”

Ruby chuckled and took a sip of her the drink. It was hot cocoa, her favourite. She wondered how Blake knew.

“I hope you don't mind me staying for a bit.” Blake asked, also sipping from her own drink. “Yang and Weiss are bickering again, I can hear it from my quarters.”

“No, it's fine.”

There was silence for a moment as they both simply listened to the breeze whistling through the mainsail. There were so many questions Ruby wanted to ask but she wasn't sure if it would be rude too. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders and decided to ask regardless.

“You said yesterday that I don't strike you as the average captain of a pirate vessel, but honestly neither do you.” Ruby sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, that didn't come out right. “I mean not that you’re a captain but like, you're not a normal pirate. Wait? No, I mean you're not abnormal or anything like that, I mean.”

Blake chuckled and shook her head. “You want to know how I became a pirate?”

Ruby sighed and chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. “Yes exactly, that.”

“I guess I just stumbled into it,” Blake replied, staring out at the ocean. “I got in with a bad crowd.”

“You mean Weiss and her crew?”

“No,” Blake replied with a sigh. “Before that, a worse one.”

Ruby just nodded and continued to stare at her. There was a sadness in her eyes as she spoke and Ruby hoped she wasn't upsetting her by prying.

“Eventually I decided I wanted to leave, I wasn't exactly seeing eye to eye with their, questionable methods.” Blake continued. “Unfortunately, they weren't exactly the types to just let you pack up and walk away.”

“What happened?”

“I tried to sneak away in the middle of the night but I got caught.”

Ruby noticed that as she spoke Blake's hand started to shake slightly. Without giving it a seconds thought she reached over and placed her own on top of it. She had expected Blake to pull away but she didn't. In fact it almost seemed as if she didn't notice at all, too caught up in her own thoughts.

“I won't go into too many details, but I honestly thought I was going to die that night.” Blake continued. “But I got lucky.”

“Lucky how?” Ruby asked, keeping her hand on top of Blakes and lightly caressing it with her thumb.

“Most people wouldn't consider their ship being invaded by pirates as lucky.” Blake replied with a sad chuckle. “But it was for me. They killed pretty much everyone on board except for me. I must have been a pretty sorry sight if even ruthless pirates took mercy.”

“Weiss?” Suddenly the pieces were falling into place, this explained a lot about why Blake was so loyal to her captain.

“I told you she wasn't all bad.” Blake smiled slightly, but the sadness in her eyes was still clear to see. “She saved me, I most definitely would have died. She nursed me back to health and gave me a choice. She would either drop me off somewhere, or I could join her crew.”

“And you chose to stay.” It wasn't really a question since Ruby already knew the answer, Blake wouldn't have been standing in front of her she had chosen otherwise.

“I didn't exactly have anywhere else to go and besides, she saved my life, I wasn't about to leave her side until I had repaid that debt.”

Ruby nodded and offered her a gentle smile. She suddenly noticed that their hands were still connected and was about to pull away when Blake stopped her, holding it in her own.

“I have absolutely no idea why I'm telling you all this.” Blake said softly, looking into her eyes. “Somehow I feel like I can trust you, which is strange, because I don't trust easily.”

“I'm glad you did,” Ruby whispered. Having Blake holding her hand was making her pulse race out of control. “I...I wanted to know more about you.”

Blake smiled and released her hand, turning back to lean against the side of a ship, overlooking the ocean. “I would like to know more about you too, if you care to share?”

Ruby moved to lean beside her, already mourning the loss of her hand in her own. They both looked over silently at the gentle rolling of the ocean and the night sky filled with twinkling stars and a dazzling full moon. The gentle breeze, almost chilling, blow through the mainsail and across the deck. Ruby shivered slightly as it touched the bare skin of her arms. She was briefly considering going back inside to get her jacket when she felt her arms and back covered. She looked up to see Blake draping her own jacket over her shoulders.

“Thank you.” She mumbled with a blush, “But you'll be cold now.”

“I'll be fine.”

They stared at each other for a moment, the only sound the gentle lapping of water on wood before Ruby broke the silence.

“So, what do you wanna know?” She asked with a smile.

Blake smiled back. “Everything.”  



	3. Chapter 3

Ruby leaned heavily against the large wooden wheel, nearly toppling over when it turned under her. She was absolutely exhausted; it had to have been the early hours of the morning before she crawled into bed. As it turned out when Blake said everything, she actually meant it and the two had talked into the small hours of the morning. 

She wasn't complaining of course she enjoyed every minute of it but it was now getting increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open as she steered the ship.

“Yo coffee!” 

“Hm? No, my name is Ruby “ 

Yang laughed and thrust the cup under her nose. “Man, you really are out it. Drink the coffee.”

As much as she didn't particularly care for coffee, Ruby took the cup from her sister and took a small sip. She walked away from the wheel, whilst beckoning Nora to take the controls and flopping down on the deck, her back resting against the mast. 

“Long night?” Yang asked with a wink.

“Yeah.” Ruby replied without looking up from her cup. 

“You know I'm sure I saw Blake sneaking back to her room the early hours of the morning.” Yang continued, wiggling her eyebrows. “Something you want to tell me, sis?”

“Well what were you doing up that time of the morning?” Ruby asked. 

“Well, we're not talking about me.” 

“Nothing happened, we just talked.” 

“Oh really?” Yang flopped down beside her sister on the deck, nudging her shoulder with her own. “Bout what?”

“Kinda, everything.” she shrugged her shoulders, taking another sip of coffee. It tasted bitter and disgusting but it was actually helping, she did feel slightly more awake.

“Oh my God...you had, the night, didn't you?” 

“I told you we didn't do anything.” Ruby replied with a grown. 

“No no, listen. The night is where you meet somebody new and you stay up all night just talking and finding out everything about them and by the morning you're totally in loooove.” Yang grinned when a sister shook her head, sensing she was about to disagree she continued. “What about her family?”

“She doesn't have one, her parents passed away when she was a child.” Ruby replied.

“Friends?”

“Really only Weiss.”

“Unfortunate.” Yang replied with a small chuckle. 

“Favourite food?” 

“Fish. Yang why are you asking me this?” Ruby asked, confused by her sisters sudden interest.

“Just trying to prove a point. if you went as far as even finding out her favourite food, you had, the night.” Yang smirked triumphantly and started jiggling back and forth on her backside, singing. “Ruby and Blake sitting in a tree, K I S S-” 

“Shut up!” Ruby complained and punched her sister lightly in the arm. “You’re an idiot.”  
Yang look like she was about to retort when she was interrupted by one of their men running across the deck towards them. He stopped, catching his breath before speaking directly to Ruby. 

“Captain Rose, I'm sorry to bother you but we have a problem.” 

“What is it Ren?” Ruby asked and jump to her feet, handing her coffee cup to Yang.

“Our water supplies haven't lasted as long as we thought they would,” he said, “we're not going to make it to the next port unless we can find a way to stock up.”

“Oh crap!” Yang immediately turned to look up at the mast. Shouting up to the figure standing in the watchpoint, holding his binoculars. “Hey, Jaune!” 

When she shouted up Jaune startled, nearly dropping his binoculars off the watchpoint but quickly catching them out of the air. He looked down over the edge, frowning down at her when she chuckled at him.

“Any ships nearby?” She shouted up. 

All three of them watched from below as Jaune looked through his binoculars into the distance. Ruby was so busy looking that she almost didn't notice Blake and Weiss approaching behind her, until one of them spoke. 

“Problems?” Blake asked. 

When Ruby turned around to look at her she immediately felt her face heat up and a brush spread across her cheeks. Maybe Yang had been right, after last night she was definitely looking at the girl from a different perspective. Blake was no longer the mysterious and beautiful stranger, she was something more.

“Well, we’re nearly out of water and might die from dehydration, but fear not, we’re on it.” Yang said, giving them a cheerful thumbs up. 

“Frighteningly reassuring…” Weiss replied, tone completely deadpan. 

“Two ships!” Jaune shouted down, causing them all to look up at him. “Large cargo ship to the west, small fishing boat to the east.”

As soon as Jaune mentioned the fishing boat Ruby noticed Blake licking her lips subtly and she smiled. “Head East!” She shouted back up. 

“Ugm, Ruby. You do realise the cargo ship is bound to have more water on board, right?” Yang asked with a knowing smile. 

“Yeah, but..eh,” Ruby tried to think fast, slightly embarrassed by her motivations. “We only need enough water to last two days and it's less risky to attack of smaller ship.”

“Suuuure.” Yang grinned at her sister before turning her attention back to the watchpoint and shouting up. “You heard the cap, we are going east!” 

“Well you know, the cargo ship isn't really all that big I don't think they'd be much risk involved!” Jaune shouted back down.

“Are you questioning my authority Ack!? I am your commanding officer!” 

“What!? No!” Jaune shouted back to Yang. “Sorry, commander Xiao Long, sir! I mean, Madam commander.” He attempted a salute, only to drop his binoculars, sending them flying to the deck and shattering into pieces. “Awwww dammit! That was the third pair this week…” 

“He's so easy.” Yang said with a chuckle. “Nora, head East!” 

“Yes, boss!” Nora replied with a cheerful salute, turning the large wooden wheel to move the ship. 

“Jaune, how long?” Ruby yelled. 

Clearly still mourning the loss of his broken binoculars, Jaune shook his head and sighed. “Well, it's a little hard to tell without my binoculars, but it did seem to be heading in our direction. My best guess ten minutes tops.”

“Okay people we know the drill.” Ruby said, addressing the entire crew, who stopped what they were doing to give the captain their full attention. “In and out fast-” 

“That's what she said.” Yang quipped.

“Yang!” 

“Shutting up.”

“Try not to hurt anyone unless it's absolutely necessary,” Ruby continued, ignoring her sister. “Take whatever supplies you can get but focus on water. if they have more than two days worth of supplies don't take it all.” 

“Why wouldn't you take it all?” Weiss asked. 

Ruby turned to look at her, smiling slightly. “Why would we? You'll be at Port Amber in two days. We are don't need it all. Why condemned them the death if we don't have to?” 

It was clear to see that Weiss was having difficulty getting her head around the concept. She looked over at Blake, who just shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

“You see what I mean now?” She muttered. 

Weiss only nodded and rubbed her forehead. 

“Alright people! Get ready!” Ruby said. She pulled out her sword and stood at the bow of the ship. 

A few more minutes pasted and the fishing boat began to come into view. It was a small vessel clearly poorly maintained and must have had a very small crew. The boat tried to turn, clearly spotting the pirate ship and attempting to make an escape. Unfortunately for them, Ruby's ship was faster and they had no trouble pulling up at their side. 

Since her ship was much larger it was impossible to balance a plank between the two, so Ruby immediately jumped across onto the small boat, followed closely by her sister and Ren. 

“I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss this.” Blake said to Weiss before leaping off the side of the ship to follow them. She didn't have a weapon but figured it wouldn't matter, the occupants of the fishing boat were most likely not the fighting types. 

Turns out she couldn't have been more right. As she landed on the deck of the of the small boat, she was met with a crew of only three people, clearly a family.

Weiss landed next to her, and Blake immediately placed her fingers on her own lips, gesturing for her to stay quiet. She wanted to see how Ruby would handle the situation. 

Ruby tentatively approached the young family. The man and woman were accompanied by a boy who looked to be in his late teens. She held her hands up, sheathing her sword and trying not to scare them. 

“Don't be afraid.” She said, gesturing behind her for Yang and Ren to also put down their weapons. “We are not going to hurt you.” 

“You're Pirates.” The man said, his voice shaking with fear.

“Yeah, and I'm not going to lie to you, we are kinda raiding you.” Ruby took a few tentative steps closer. “We ran out of water and-” 

“Take whatever you want just please don't hurt my family!” The man pleaded. 

Ruby knelt in front of them, still holding her hands out in a gesture to show she meant them no harm. “We don't want to hurt anyone we just need a bit of water. We promise we won't even take all of it or anything else.”

The man just nodded, clearly still not trusting her words. He was practically frozen in fear.

“As long as you stay where you are and don't move everything will be fine.” She turned her head to address her crew mates standing behind her. “Ren go check there water supplies, but don't touch anything else.” 

“Yes sir,” Ren replied before running off across the boat. 

“I really am sorry about this; I promise we'll be quick.” Ruby said to the young family with a smile. 

“Is she for real?” Weiss whispered to Blake, watching the whole scene with utter disbelief. 

“This is exactly what I was talking about, these guys are different.” 

“You mean soft?” Weiss replied, shaking her head. “She could easily take this ship for everything it's got, yet she's only taking half their water supply and then letting them go about their day. What kind of pirates are these?”

“Pirates with a conscience it seems.” Blake almost chuckled at the expression on her captain's face. She looked as though she just said the most ludicrous thing she had ever heard. 

“That's ridiculous.” Weiss whispered with an almost angry tone. “Pirates can't be nice!” 

“I beg to differ.” Blake replied with a smile. “I wouldn't be standing here if pirates couldn't be nice.”

Weiss huffed and looked away. “Whatever.” she muttered under her breath. 

“We can take a two day supply sir, they have enough.” Ren said as he rushed back from below deck. 

“Good.” Ruby replied. “Then load up and make it quick.” She turned back to the family. “We will be out of your hair in a few minutes. Mind if we take a few fish for the road?” 

The man just nodded his head, staring at her in disbelief. 

“Fantastic!” She turned back to Yang. “Get some fish.” 

“But they smell!” Yang complained, slumping slightly where she stood. “Make Ren do it.” 

“Ren is getting the water. Get the fish.” 

“Fine!” Yang sighed and walked over to one of the nets, grabbing a bucket and filling it with a few fish. “Stupid smelly little shits.” 

“Alright!” Ruby said when she saw that Ren had loaded the water onto the ship. “You have a nice day now! Sorry for all the raiding and whatnot.” 

The family didn't reply. Although they were no longer afraid, their fear had now turned into complete disbelief at the situation. This had to be the friendliest pirate raid in the history of the world. Nobody back at the fishing port was going to believe this.

Soon the fishing boat was on its way and Ruby and her crew were back aboard their own ship. Weiss stood next to Yang on the deck, watching as Ruby wandered below with Ren to make sure the water supplies were all in order.

“Is that how she always does it?” When she asked Yang look down at her with a smile. 

“What's that, Tiny Pirate?” 

Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed. “Ruby, the way she handled that raid, is that normal?”

“Pretty much, but it depends on the ship.” Yang replied, “Most of the time we try to hit the bigger marks, like the royal guard ships, those guys are jackasses that deserve everything they get.” 

Weiss nodded. They could at least agree on that. The royal guards we're not pirates per say, but they were more couriers, bringing expensive goods from one place to another in order to sell it at over inflated prices, usually too poor people who couldn't afford it.

“Every now and then we come across a smaller vessel, like that one and then we just take what we need, no more no less.” Yang continued. “We won't hurt anyone, unless we have to defend ourselves.”

“I see…” Weiss replied. She would have to admit, if only to herself she was slightly bewildered but also intrigued by this concept. “You really are pirates with a conscience.” She whispered in disbelief.

“Daww, thanks sweetheart!” Yang said, winking at her. “That's the nicest thing anyone said to me all day.”

“I wasn't talking about you, you giant lump! You meant your captain!” Weiss replied, putting her hands on her hips. “You're probably just as bad as I am.”

“Wanna find out just how bad I can be?” Yang purred at her, causing her to take a few steps back.

“Stop doing that!” 

Yang just laughed as she watched her storm across the deck and out of sight.

“Oh, I really like her. So much fun.” She chuckled to herself before wandering off to find Ruby. 

With the water supplies now safely stored below deck, the ship started making its way back to Port Amber. Ruby loaded the supplies, completely unaware that she was being watched from a distance. 

Blake sat on a large crate in the corner of the storage room below deck. As she watched Ruby idly chatting to Ren whilst loading supplies water she couldn't help replaying the event of the day in her head. The way Ruby had handled that raid, she had never seen anything like it. There had been a time when she had believed such kindness did not exist in this world but this young pirate captain had proved her wrong. 

Blake had been on the receiving end of very few acts of kindness in her life, and seen hardly any. Her world had always be a dark and cruel place, but here was Ruby and her crew proving that even the worst deeds can be done in the kindest of ways. 

She couldn't help but remember back to that fateful day that Weiss had saved her life. That one characteristic act of kindness had been what led her to this moment. Weiss of all people have shown her that the world wasn't quite as dark as she thought it was. 

“They’re not normal.” 

Blake was so caught up in her inner monologue she barely noticed the girl in question stepping up beside her. She looked over, almost chuckling at the annoyed look on her captain's face. 

“Yang’s been bugging you again?” She asked and Weiss didn't need to answer; she already knew by her expression.

“The sooner we get off this ship the better.” She answered crossing her arms over her chest and leaning on one hip. 

Blake looked over at Ruby and felt herself smile, a warm feeling filling a heart. “I'm not quite sure about that.” She whispered more to herself than to Weiss before jumping down from the crate and heading out of the store room.


	4. Chapter 4

It was confusing, deeply frustrating and Weiss didn't like it one little bit. These people were infuriating. What kind of pirates were these people? She sat on the edge of the deck, growing more and more irritated by hearing Nora's inane whistling behind her. Did she have to be so damn cheerful all the time? 

She hadn't been able to sleep that night, the events of the previous day playing on her mind. Things on this ship were certainly different from her own and the truth was, what bothered her the most, she was starting to like it. Even the first mates incessant flirting, which initially had bothered her to no end, was starting to grow on her. Albeit like a bad case of fungal toe, but still she was finding herself getting used to it. 

She sighed heavily as she watched the two sisters practising their sword fighting in the middle of the deck. They looked so happy, smiling and laughing as they joked back and forth between clashes of their swords. 

“No discipline…” She mumbled and jumped slightly when she felt Blake flop down beside her. 

“Is that necessarily a bad thing?” Blake asked, handing her a cup. 

Weiss took me offered drink and replied without taking her eyes off the duelling sisters. “I just don't understand how a ship can run this way.”

“It runs, and they’re happy. No offence but that's more than can be said for our crew.”

“You know when someone starts a sentence with the words ‘no offence’ it usually means they are about to offend you.” Weiss almost found herself smiling when her words made Blake chuckle.

“Just telling it how it is Captain.” 

Weiss considered her friend for a moment, staring at her intensely. Blake was perhaps the only real friend she had in her entire life and the girl had stuck with her through thick and thin for many years now. Ever since that fateful night she had saved the young girls life, Blake had been like her right arm. 

“You know we don't even have a ship anymore, I'm not technically your captain.”

“You will always be my captain.” Blake replied with a soft smile and Weiss knew she meant it. 

“Don't get all mushy on me, Belladonna.” She replied with a roll of the eyes but she took a sip of her drink to cover up a small smile nevertheless. 

They both looked up suddenly when Ruby stumbled in their direction having been knocked back by her sister. She landed on the floor with a thud in front of them

“Ha ha! Me salty sea dog...me thinks your grandma is a better duellist!” Yang laughed triumphantly, standing in a dramatic pose with her hand on her hip. 

“Yang that was your grandma too.” Ruby staggered back to her feet, readying her sword again. “Also I bet grandma could have kicked both are butts.” 

Yang laughed heartily. “You're probably right. Now come on Ruby, I know you can do better than that.”

Their weapons once again clashed in combat and their spectators continued to watch from the sidelines. 

“What are we going to do Blake?” Weiss finally asked the question she knew they were both thinking for the last two days. “When we get to port, where will we go?” 

“I don't know.” Blake admitted. The same question had been on her mind to. Neither of them had a family and they no longer had a ship, their future seemed uncertain. “We'll figure something out.”

“We? So you'll stay with me?” 

Blake registered the moment of surprise at the question. In all these years not once had Weiss openly asked her to stay. At first she had stayed out of gratitude, wanting to repay the debt for her life, but after a while their dynamic had changed. Weiss was her best friend now, her only family. 

“Really think you can get rid of me that easily?”

The two shared a small smile before Weiss cleared her throat and looked away. “Yes, well, good.”

“Ruby no!!”

Weiss looked over just in time to see Yang hitting the deck with a groan. “That was a cheap move!” She said, dusting herself off as she stood up. “And to your own sister, I'm deeply hurt.”

“There are no sisters on the battlefield!” Ruby shouted dramatically, raising her sword above her head. 

Much to her horror, Weiss giggled at the display before quickly clamping her hand over her mouth. It was too late though Blake had heard her.

“I hate this.” She mumbles and ran off to hide in her quarters below deck. 

Blake just chuckled and watched her go. She continued to watch the sisters playful duelling for a moment longer before something in the distance caught her attention. She looked up, noticing that Jaune wasn't in his watchtower and was instead stood by the wheel idly chatting with Nora. Nobody was on lookout.

Curious to get a better look, she stood up and walked to the edge of the ship. Far off in the distance was a small billow of black smoke. Blake immediately knew what that could mean, cannon fire. She called out to Ruby, who dropped her sword and came running to her side, followed closely by her sister.

“This could be bad.” Ruby said, looking off into the distance. “That's gonna be a ship.”

“Yeah, and by the looks of it, it's not in a very good state.” Blake replied. She spotted Jaunes binoculars lying on the side of the deck and quickly ran over to grab them. 

A look through the binoculars confirmed but they are all thought. It was a small vessel and when Blake looked closer, she could see two large holes in the side billowing with smoke. There was no denying it, somebody had attacked this ship. 

“We should get out of here.” She said to Ruby after lowering the binoculars. “Whoever attacked that ship, couldn't have got very far.” 

“No, we can't leave if there might be survivors,” Ruby replied. “We have to help them.” 

For a moment Blake was lost for words, she simply stared. Once again Ruby had surprised her. On her previous ships nobody would ever consider the possibility of giving aid the strangers but here was this young captain, ready to put her life in danger to help people she'd never even met. 

Before she had a chance to speak, Ruby was already giving orders to Nora to turn the ship. It wasn't far, but as they got closer the devastation was even more apparent. The ship was slowly sinking, several small fires burning through the bulkhead and across its bow. 

“I don't see anyone.” Ruby spoke as she held the binoculars to her eyes, scanning the area. 

“If there is anyone, they’ll be in the water.” Yang said. “You would have to be mad to stay on a ship in that condition.” 

Ruby nodded but didn't stop looking through the binoculars. After another minute of scanning the area, she lowered them with a hearty sigh. “Yeah, you're right. They’re in the water…” 

It was easy to see by her expression that the news was far from good, and as the ship drifted closer that assumption was confirmed. The crew were in water alright, but unfortunately, far beyond rescue. 

“Poor guys…” Yang sighed and placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. “Sorry, Rubes. Guess we're too late.” 

“Yeah.” Ruby flashed her sister a sad smile. “There's nothing we can do here, we should leave before…”

“To late for that.” Blake interrupted. 

It didn't take long to spot what Blake was referring too and Ruby's eyes widen as a ship just as large as their own came into view on their port side. They all immediately recognised it and Blake quickly ran across the ship and shouted to Wiess below deck.

“Back for round two.” Yang lifted her hands up with the urge to crack her knuckles. Of course she couldn't, but old habits were hard to break. “Only this time no tiny pirate in command.”

“My best guess would be Cinder.” Weiss walked across the deck, looking out over the side at her ship, which was approaching fast. “She was always salty that I promoted Blake over her.” 

“Tell me about it...she made those feeling very clear.” Blake said with a small sneer. 

“All hands, battle stations!” Ruby shouted. She sprinted across the deck, pulling out her sword on the way. “They’re pulling up, port side.”

“This time you're ready for them.” Yang smirked and flipped her blade in her hand. “Let's mess um up!” 

“Wait!” Weiss held her hands up, standing in the middle of the deck to get everyone's attention. “Once they see I'm alive I can order them not to attack. I'm still the captain after all.” 

Blake looked sceptical as she moved to stand beside her captain and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Weiss I don't think-” 

“We're being boarded!” Ruby interrupted with a shout.

It all happened in a flash, a prank falling to connect both ships before the deck was nothing more than a fury of heated combat. Weapons crashed together and all Weiss could do was watch as her crew overwhelmed the vessel, paying absolutely no mind to her presence. 

Until.

“Well, well.” the voice came from behind her but she immediately recognised it. Turning around only confirmed her suspicions.

“Cinder…” she said with a sneer. “I should have known.”

“I would say the same thing, but I honestly expected you to be quite dead.” Cinder approached her, slowly walking around her in circles. “The fact that you're still breathing is something I will soon remedy.”

Weiss narrowed her eyes. She instinctively reached for her rapier, only to remember that her weapon had been confiscated. She panicked, eyes frantically searching for some sort of aid but everyone was far too caught up in the furious combat to even notice her predicament.

Across the deck Ruby stood back to back with her sister, both fending off the onslaught of attackers. Yang pushed off her back, charging forward and pushing two men simultaneously off the side of the ship. They screamed as they hit the water below and she turned quickly to see her sister dispatching the third. She was about to speak when she noticed Blake, attempting to fend off an attacker using only her fists. Remembering that they had confiscated their weapons, she searched the deck for Weiss, her eyes widening when she caught sight of her.

“Ruby, help Blake.” She shouted and started sprinting across the deck towards Weiss. “I got this!” 

Ruby nodded and turned to search for Blake. She spotted her, now grappling and attempting to fend off two men with only her bare hands. She sprang into action, leaping over two crates, and landing directly on top of Blake's attackers, sending them crashing to the ground. She finished them off with a swift kick to the head before turning to Blake. 

“You okay?” She asked with concern. Blake just nodded and flashed her a small smile.

“Fine, but I could use a weapon.” She replied. She honestly thought she would have to convince the young captain further, but Ruby didn't hesitate. She leant down to one of the now unconscious foes and removed his sword, handing it to Blake.

Blake gave the weapon in her hand a quick once over before looking back to her with a raised eyebrow. “You trust me?” 

“Yes.” Ruby replied without a moment's hesitation. “I trust you, Blake.” 

For a moment, despite the chaos that surrounded them, Blake could have sworn the only thing that existed in the universe was the girl in front of her. This girl, that she had only known a few days was offering her such unconditional trust. A few days prior they have been enemies, and now they would fight, side but side. 

“Let's do this.”

Before Ruby had a chance to acknowledge her words the biggest pirate either of them had ever seen charged directly at Blake. She flipped out of his path, pushing herself off the ship's bulkhead and over his head to land behind him. As she turned she swiped with her blade, attempting to land a hit only to miss when the large man jumped back and away from the impact.

Ruby ran up behind her and Blake instinctively ducked allowing the girl to use her shoulder as a boost, flinging her into the air. She backflipped out of the way when Ruby landed on the man, striking the top of his head with the hilt of her sword and sending him crashing to the deck with a heavy thud. 

Now panting for breath, Ruby jumped off the unconscious man's back and landed on her feet. She dropped her sword on the deck, trying to catch her breath before looking at Blake.

“That...that was awesome!” 

Blake chuckled breathlessly and quickly approached her, placing both hands on her shoulders. “Are you alright?” She asked and Ruby nodded with a grin. 

“Totally.” she replied. “We fight so well together.” 

“Yeah.” Blake whispered in reply. 

They were both still slightly out of breath and Ruby chuckled slightly. She was about to make another comment but completely froze when Blake reached over, touching her cheek. She wanted to say something but all coherent thought left her at the feeling of the pad of Blake's thumb pressing against her skin and the heady smell of lavender. 

“You have some blood,” Blake whispered and continued to rub against her cheek with her fingers. “On your face.” Although the blood was gone, her fingers lingered, drifting further down towards her lips and slowly traced along her bottom lip with her thumb. 

Ruby had completely frozen, only able to stare into Blake's eyes. She was so close now that she could feel warm breath against her skin and the gentle touch of her finger across her lower lip. 

“Blake.” She had no idea what she wanted to say, but she knew what she wanted Blake to do.

As if reading her mind, Blake lent forward and tenderly pressed her lips against her. Ruby sighed, reaching up to touch her shoulders before wrapping her arms completely around Blake's neck and pulling her further into the kiss. 

She didn't want this moment to end, it felt so wonderful. Blake's lips were so soft and gentle, moving slowly against her own and filling her with the most wonderful feelings, unlike anything should ever felt before. 

Unfortunately the kiss ended far too soon for either of them and not by choice. The tender moment was broken by the sound of a scream from behind. 

“I won’t let you hurt her!” Yang sneered and held Cinder by her throat pushing her against the edge of the ship. 

“If you're going to kill me, get it over with.” Cinder grunted in reply and struggled against her grip. 

Yang didn't hesitate and Weiss could only watch as she pushed her over the edge of the bulkhead. The scream echoed through the air, only accompanied by the furious battle still taking place around them.

Yang wiped the sweat from her brow and looked at Weiss. She had expected the girl to take immediate control, given that her command had now been re-established but instead she stood frozen in place, only able to stare back at her. 

“Weiss?” Yang tentatively approached her but even upon hearing her name, she remained stationary. 

“Weiss, your men.” Yang tried again, pointing over to the waiting crew. “You’re their captain again. Order them to stand down!” 

Suddenly Weiss shook her head and pulled her eyes away from Yang, looking over at her crew. “Right...I…ugm.” She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “Stop!” Upon hearing her shout, her men halted in their tracks. “Go back to the ship and await my orders!” She shouted, her voice finally finding its commanding tone. 

Her crew did as they were told and immediately bolted across the plank connecting the two ships. 

“Are you okay?” 

Weiss looked back to find Yang now standing directly behind her, her face ridden with concern. 

“I'm perfectly fine, why wouldn't I be?” She replied. 

“Well you kinda froze up there. Had me a little worried.” 

Weiss had absolutely no idea what to say to that. After everything she had just witnessed, Yang saving her life and now this? She seemed genuinely concerned about her. None of this made any sense. 

“Why would you be worried about me?” She asked and Yang smiled. 

“Well, you’ve kinda grown on me, tiny pirate.” Yang replied with a grin. “Guess I just wanna know that you're alright.” 

“I…I'm fine.” That was a lie, she wasn't fine at all. 

This was exactly the reason she had frozen. Once Cinder had met her end Weiss knew exactly how to proceed. She had her ship back but the moment it was time to take command once more, she hesitated to do so. 

Seeing Yang save her life, for no other reason than genuine concern for her, completely threw her off balance. The unprecedented acts of kindness she had seen over the past few days flooded her mind like a movie on repeat and for a moment she wondered, was her old life really what she wanted?

She quickly shook the thoughts away, this wasn't her. She was a woman that prided herself on structure and discipline. It was going to take more than a few days with this band of happy misfits to change her entire worldview.

“I have my ship back.” she said with newfound determination. “I couldn't be better.” 

The words sounded hollow, but that was just her way.


	5. Chapter 5

The morning sun hung over Port Amber as Blake sat with her feet dangling over the edge of the dock. It had been a few hours since both their ships had arrived at Port and it was nice to have a little time to relax and think about the events that had transpired over the past few days.

Once Weiss had regained control of a ship she had immediately called a truce between the two vessels, informing her crew that violence against Ruby’s ship would not be tolerated. Since both ships were in desperate need of supplies, they had made the trip to Port Amber together and now sat at dock side by side.

It was a strange sight to see the two ships docked together, certainly something that wouldn't have happened a few days before.

Blake sighed as the gentle breeze blew through her hair. It was nice to be on dry land for a change, if only for a short time. Her crew was scouring the city for supplies of water and food, but it wouldn't be long before they returned and she would be forced to leave once more.

“Where do you think you'll go?”

Blake looked up just in time to see Ruby sitting down beside her. She smiled when she was handed a tankard of what she assumed would be ale only to take a slip and discover it was some sort of lemon drink.

“That's really up to my captain.” she replied. “Most likely business as usual though.”

“Yeah, right.”

Ruby chuckled nervously but there was also a sadness in it and Blake noticed she was suddenly refusing to meet her eye, instead staring at the water below.

“Or you know, you could like, not go.” She said, still not meeting her eye as she spoke. “Stay.”

“Stay?” Blake raised her eyebrow and set her drink down on the wooden dock next to her. “Stay, with you?”

She wasn't going to lie; the thought had crossed her mind since the events of last night. The truth was she had no real desire to return to her old ship, but it wasn't that simple. The last few days with Ruby and her crew had been the happiest she had felt in a long time.

“You don't belong with them.” Ruby said and suddenly stood up. “Join my crew? I mean if you want too.”

Blake followed suit and pushed herself up to stand in front of her. She wanted to say yes, more than anything, but she knew she couldn't. “Ruby, I can't.”

“Why not?” Ruby replied sadly. “I thought you liked us, or me at least, I mean after last night.”

Blake blushed slightly when she thought back to the kiss they had shared the previous night. She hadn't meant for it to happen. Her only intention had been to wipe away the smear of blood from the young captain's cheek, but as she stared into her eyes she had been unable to help herself. She didn't regret it for a moment though, it had been amazing.

“I do, I like you a lot actually,” she replied, taking a few steps closer. “You are the most amazing person I've ever met.”

Ruby blushed and looked away. “You are too,” she whispered in reply and blushed further when she noticed how close Blake was standing. “You're incredible.”

That feeling returned, the same feeling that had overtaken her the night before and caused her to act without thought. Once again Blake didn't fight it and allowed herself to lean down and pressed her lips gently against Ruby's. She sighed and smiled when she felt the smaller girl kiss her back with a soft hum.

When it ended they rested their foreheads together, both releasing a contented sigh.

“Please stay.” Ruby whispered, not pulling away. She instead threw her arms around Blake's neck and pulled her closer.

Despite how amazing the close contact felt Blake reluctantly pulled herself away and took a few steps back.

“I want to say yes Ruby, I really do but…” Blake sighed and looked down at her feet, not wanting to meet the disappointed eyes that stared back at her. “I can't leave my captain.”

“Weiss?”

“I know this is difficult to understand, but I owe her everything.” When Blake looked up, she was met with the disappointment that you hadn't wanted to see and quickly looked away again. “I can't leave her.”

“You owe me nothing.”

Blake quickly span round coming face to face with Weiss. Standing next to her was Yang, clearly having witnessed the tender display between her sister and Blake, she was grinning at her.

“Weiss I…” Blake started but was quickly interrupted.

“No, listen here Belladonna.” Taking on her usual commanding tone, Weiss stood in front of her with her hands on her hips. “If you think you still owe me anything you're wrong.”

“But…”

“No buts.” she continued. “You have been my loyal first mate for years, saved my life more times than I can count. Your debt is more than repaid.”

Blake only nodded, completely unsure what to say.

“If you stay with me now, I want it to be because you want to, not because of some misguided sense of loyalty.”

“But I do want too, it's just.”

“You also want to go with them,” Weiss finished the sentence for her and Blake nodded. “I understand, and I think you should.”

“But what about you?”

There was clearly an internal struggle going on inside her head and Blake noticed her expression softened before suddenly hardening again. Her eyes shifting back to there mask of command.

“I'm perfectly capable of functioning without you.” Weiss replied. “I'm giving you one last order as your captain, I'm ordering you off my ship.”

Blake was stunned and she watched his Weiss quickly turned away from her. She approached the girl, lightly placing her hand on her shoulder and smiling. “You will always be my captain.” She whispered and felt Weiss tensing slightly under her fingers before she shrugged and moved away.

“Yes, well. Good luck Belladonna.” With that Weiss barged past Yang and hurried across the dock.

Blake was about to follow after her when she noticed Yang was already hot on her heels.

“Well, that was kinda intense.” Ruby said with a small chuckle. “I guess you have no choice now, you have to join my crew.”

“Yeah,” Blake replied with a laugh. “Guess you're stuck with me.”

“Oh how awful, whatever will I do?” Ruby replied with fake sarcasm causing Blake to chuckle once more.

She took her new captain into her arms, once again resting their foreheads together with a contented sigh. “I think you’ll cope.” She whispered before kissing her again.

“Weiss!!” Yang called out, picking up her pace in an attempt to keep up. “Slow don't would you!”

Instead of slowing down Weiss came to a sudden stop, causing Yang to bang into the back of her and stagger backwards.

“What do you want?” She asked, hands on her hips.

“I just want to say,” Yang said. “What you did back there, was pretty awesome.”

“I…I just did what had to be done.” Weiss stated. “Blake wanted to stay, and quite frankly I'm tired of having her around anyway. She’s too soft.”

“Mmmhmmm.” Yang hummed and flashed her a knowing smile. “So it had nothing to do with you wanting her to be happy? Or anything like that.”

“It's…” As much as she didn't want to admit to anything, she knew Yang could see right through her. “Look, it doesn't matter now. Everyone got what they wanted and I have important things to do before I leave, so.”

“Don't leave.”

“Excuse me?”

Yang approached her and Weiss I couldn't help but take a few tentative steps back. “Join us too? forget your ship. Come with us.”

As much as she hated to admit it, the offer was extremely tempting. The last few days she had felt a happiness she had never felt before, but she knew, that wasn't meant for her. Ruby and her crew they weren't like her. The terrible things she had done, she wasn't a good person, deep inside she knew that. She wasn't deserving of that kind of happiness.

“I can't,” she said with a sigh. “I have my ship, my crew. That is where I belong.”

“No it isn't!” Yang pleaded and the intensity startled her. “You're a good person Weiss, I know it! I see it!”

“No I'm not!!” Weiss cried out. “I'm a pirate Yang, without mercy. I will not attack your ship now, but only because you spared my life. In future I suggest you keep your distance.”

“You're not fooling me. I see you.” Yang replied with a sigh. “But I guess there is no convincing you of that.”

“You cannot convince me of something that is not true.” Weiss replied before turning away. “I...good bye, Yang.”

With that, she walked away and Yang watched her go with a heavy sigh. “Until we meet again, tiny pirate,” she whispered sadly before turning back and heading for her own ship.

As she walked away, Weiss felt a single tear rolling down her cheek and reached up to quickly wipe it away. There would be none of that. Now she was alone she could truly focus. There would be no distractions now to keep her from the path she knew she had to follow. A pirate without mercy.

She wandered off into the distance with a fresh determination, and a sadness in her heart.

Yang returned to the dock just in time to see Ruby and Blake loading the last of their supplies but she didn't stop, walking straight past them and onto the ship.

“That's the last of it!” Ruby said with a happy cheer. “Time to hit the road, well seas, you know what I mean.”

Blake chuckled at her, placing the last container on deck before helping to pull the anchor back on board. “Away the good ship..eh, wait.” She stopped, scratching her head. “Does your ship have a name? I never did ask.”

“Oh! Actually, it doesn't.” Ruby replied, shrugging her shoulders. “I never named it.”

“You never named your ship?” Blake asked in amazement. A pirate ship without a name? She had never heard such a thing. “You really are a strange person, I mean, not in a bad way. You're amazing.”

Ruby blushed and chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, I just never really thought about it, but hey! Why don't we name it now?”

“Alright, go ahead.” Blake replied with a smile.

The cogs were clearly turning inside her head and Blake couldn't help but find it extremely endearing. She looked far too cute, one hand rubbing her chin and her eyes moving back and forth as if she was searching her own mind for the answer. Suddenly those eyes lit up and she held one finger in the air.

“How about, The Ladybug?”

Blake grinned and shook her head. It was an unusual name for a pirate ship but somehow it just seemed to fit. She nodded and took Ruby’s hand in her own as they walked towards the front of the ship. “I think that's perfect.”

They stood at the end of the ship, both staring out into the ocean that stretched out before them. Neither of them wanted to say it out loud but the excitement just seemed to buzz in the air and neither of them could help the giddy feeling as they thought about the adventures that awaited them on the open seas.

They stared at each other, both smiling shyly as the ship took off, rolling through the open sea for its next destination.

“Adventure awaits.” Ruby whispered to herself and despite not knowing where they were heading, she knew one thing for sure.

With Blake by her side, life would never again be boring aboard the good ship ladybug.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The end? Maybe not...There maybe some unfinished business for Yang and Weiss. Perhaps a sequel? ; )
> 
> Let me know if that's wanted.


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